Many different devices are used to help plants through their different stages of development. Some plant species grow to be quite tall and have long branches and vines. To prevent these plants from dying, they must be supported and protected to minimize damage from harsh handling and environmental conditions.
In the culturing and development of potted plants or plants resident in a container, many times a stand or support is used to position the potted plant on the ground or floor a in predetermined orientation. The users of stands, such as gardeners and nursery operators, use the stands to prevent toppling of the plant due to wind or inadvertent bumping. Additionally, the stands facilitate moving of plants and optimize the use of storage or floor space.
To prevent having to buy and assemble different support structures for plants in various sized containers and frequently replace the support structures due to deterioration, it would be advantageous to have an adjustable potted plant support structure that is resistant to fracture and deterioration. Most structures, however, do not perform both functions.
Prior plant supports commonly use wire to support plant containers, wherein wire sections are welded or fastened together. The wire structures frequently deform, or, even worse, the welds holding the wire structure together break and fracture due to formation of rust. Weld and fastener locations are where rust typically first occurs in the wire structures, which damages the structural integrity and operating life of the structure. Moreover, the rigid attachments of many support structures prevent adjustment of its shape and will fracture when the wire structure is manipulated or assembled and disassembled.
Prior support structures are lightweight which makes them susceptible to being blown over in inclement weather or knocked over by a person passing by. Additionally, prior plant supports have experienced problems due to their shape and structural orientation. For example, many plant supports have insufficient space to accommodate various sized plant containers. As plants grow, they often have to be repotted in larger containers. A new support structure must be purchased to accommodate the larger pot since the prior support structure cannot be adjusted to accommodate the larger pot. Having structurally limited support structures increases the cost of equipment for a user, and, increases the chances of losing a structure when not in use. Finally, the shape of some plant supports is disadvantageous to stacking a multiple of plant supports on top of one another. There may be a segment or portion of the plant support that prevents multiple plant supports from complementarily engaging one another in a stacking fashion.
As such, it may be appreciated that there continues to be a need for a potted plant support designed to effectively accommodate various sized containers and provides sturdy reliable support. Additionally, there is a need to provide a plant support that can withstand the rugged handling associated with repeated insertion and removal of containers, and stacking. There is a desire to provide a plant support that is resistant to rust and exposure to other elements, while maintaining a high degree of stability.